Frontiir Company Limited recognised at Asian Technology Excellence Awards 2025

The company’s ultra-low-cost broadband and solar-integrated network redefine inclusive digital access in Myanmar.

Frontiir Company Limited (Frontiir) was honoured with the Myanmar Technology Excellence Award for Network and Broadband - Broadband Telecommunication at the Asian Technology Excellence Awards 2025. The recognition highlights the company’s pioneering and improved broadband technology and solar-integrated infrastructure, which transformed Myanmar’s connectivity landscape and enabled millions to access affordable, reliable internet.

When Frontiir launched its flagship brand, Myanmar Net, in 2016, internet penetration in the country was less than 1% and fixed broadband was almost non-existent. Services were slow, unreliable, and priced well beyond the means of most households. Frontiir addressed these challenges by developing proprietary and U.S.-patented Direct Wi-Fi system and low-cost fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) system designed to overcome Myanmar’s infrastructure and cost barriers.

Over the last two years, the company’s improved second-generation innovative edge-active FTTH architecture cut capital expenditure by up to 80% compared with conventional deployments. Today, Frontiir’s Myanmar Net provides over 3.5 million users across 10 cities with cheap internet at just US$0.06 per day for 7 days of unlimited data, bringing connectivity within reach of communities long excluded from the digital economy.

Frontiir’s improved proprietary Direct-WiFi technology eliminates the need for expensive and time-consuming fibre last-mile deployment by using pole-mounted access points with dual-radio directional antennas installed near customer premises and providing direct indoor broadband access via mobile phones for low-income customers. Meanwhile, its edge-active FTTH architecture pushes compute and control functions closer to the users, drastically reducing the need for expensive and time-consuming backhaul to second-mile fibre deployment whilst maintaining reliable high-speed service for middle-class income customers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Supporting homegrown patented technologies, such as software-based bandwidth sharing and traffic shaping, further increases efficiency.

To ensure sustainability and resilience in a country with frequent power outages, Frontiir also invested in energy-resilient infrastructure. In 2024, it launched solar-integrated data centres in Yangon and Mandalay, equipped with lithium battery storage and thousands of proprietary smart solar-powered poles. These facilities reduce diesel use whilst improving service reliability tremendously and can operate reliably even during prolonged grid outages. 

The impact of these innovations extends beyond cost and access. Customers from retail shops and mobile service providers to hotels, restaurants, and households report faster, more reliable connectivity and responsive service. Many highlight how affordable internet access has improved their businesses, education, and personal lives. 

Frontiir, Myanmar’s largest interest service provider founded and led by Myanmar-born Dr Godfrey Tan, who is a Yangon public high school graduate and holder of a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, achieves its vision of bridging the digital divide by introducing unique digital innovations and technologies and cultivating a passionate team-results-accountability-customers-oriented culture. It stands as a national pioneer in offering the cheapest internet prices in the world by significantly lowering data prices in Myanmar since its inception through its revolutionary FTTH and Direct Wi-Fi technologies and affordability-focused pricing model. With a 99% Myanmar-born workforce, including the founder and a co-founder, Frontiir demonstrates that homegrown innovation can deliver both technical excellence and meaningful social impact.

The Asian Technology Excellence Awards celebrates the most outstanding technological innovations and achievements across Asia, recognising organisations that leverage emerging technologies to drive business value, strengthen customer experiences, and transform industries.

The Asian Technology Excellence Awards is presented by Asian Business Review. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding retail initiatives, please contact Julie Anne Nunez-Difuntorum at +65 3158 1386 ext 242 or [email protected].